Category Archives: Racing News

As the 2007 Racing Season draws to a close, it goes without saying that this year has been another highly successful season for those that ride with Steeda Autosports. Once again, Steeda equipped vehicles have set more track records, won more races, and won more championships than all of our competitors (Shelby, Roush, and Saleen) combined! The road racing courses and drag strips continue to be the ultimate proving grounds for our products and vehicles with one specific purpose in mind: To design, engineer, manufacturer, and distribute the BEST performance products possible for the Ford performance enthusiast.

To highlight just one of our many race victories that exemplify our success this season, we are going to highlight a race series that occurred during the weekend of November 17th and 18th at the South Atlantic Road Race of Champions at the Moroso Motorsports Park in Palm Beach County Florida – the “super bowl” of competition where all of the class leaders and top competitors race against each other:

On Saturday, the Steeda Team took their Steeda prepared Focus to the two hour enduro championship. Qualifying 1st in class and an amazing 3rd overall the stoutly prepared Steeda Focus piloted by Dario Orlando and Glen Vitale beat all class competitors and even out ran Porsche 911s and BMWs on it’s way to another 1st place class finish. On Sunday the winning steak continued when Dario Orlando, running in 2nd place with three laps to go, out-braked and out-handled the 1st place car into a turn and easily captured the lead and captured yet another 1st place class victory for the Steeda Team.

Not to be outdone, Tom Ellis raced to another amazing set of victory’s in American Sedan when his Steeda prepared SN95 Mustang not only set a new class track record of 1:39.446 around the challenging Moroso road course, but also captured two 1st place podium finishes: one on Saturday and another on Sunday.Congratulations Tom on a highly successful year!

One weekend, one track, two cars, and four 1st place victories and a new track record – just another example of the Steeda winning advantage that is yours every time you have Steeda on your side!

The Burnett Racing Team scored yet another championship for Steeda Autosports!

The ace of the track – Robin Burnet – had another dream season in 2007 in his Steeda prepared Mustang. For the third year in a row, his beautiful red Steeda Mustang won the NASA Ohio-Indy American Iron Regional Championship leaving everyone in his dust.

In the 10 race hotly contested series, Robin showed everyone that he has the right car and the right equipment to win – and win BIG! With 6 wins, 4 second place finishes and 5 pole positions in the series, there was little doubt that his Steeda Mustang was the only one to beat this season. When the final checkered flag dropped, Robin placed his Steeda Mustang on the podium at “NASA Nationals” championship held at the legendary Mid-Ohio sports car course and ended all speculation about who was going to win the series.

What about the others? One thing for certain, they were not driving a Steeda Mustang!

Join us in congratulating Robin, his fantastic crew members, and the great team at Steeda Autosports for clinching another championship and proving that when you drive with Steeda – you are driving with a winner!

Tom Ellis is a natural born winner – especially when he is driving his Steeda prepared Mustang on the racetrack, In SCCA American Sedan Racing this season, Tom Ellis COMPLETELY DOMINATED his class this season – having the hottest shoe in the highly competitive Southeast Region.

For the third consecutive year, Tom has piloted his Steeda Mustang to the American Sedan South East Region National Championship winning an unbelievable 6 out of 7 races, and finishing a very close second in one race.

In addition to winning almost every race he entered, Tom and his Steeda prepared Mustang set two new American Sedan track records – one at the famed Daytona International Speedway and the second at the very challenging Road Atlanta race course.

It just goes to show you that when you drive a Steeda Mustang, on the race track or on the street you had better have a good set of rear view mirrors because that is where the competition will be!

NMRA drag racing has been a hotly contested series this season, and Steeda Autosports prepared Mustangs have been right out in front. The S197 Mustang campaigned by Sutton High Performance has been a complete terror on the dragstrip in the Renegade class, setting records for both the quickest elapsed time with a 8.59 and the top speed with a 160.19 – now that is really movin’ the metal down the dragstrip!

Randy Mohrbach – Sutton High Performance

Randy Mohrbach of Sutton High Performance (http://www.suttonhp.com) credits their record setting success to their Steeda Autosports drag racing performance equipment they use.

Recently they started using the Steeda drag shocks and struts and have notice a dramatic improvement in their 60’ times — currently they are rocketing in the sub 1.30 second range – all due in part to the Steeda Autosports set-up they are using ! Congratulations to the entire team at Sutton High Performance for both their commitment to the sport and to Steeda Autosports performance equipment.

Tom Himes

Driving his Steeda equipped Mustang, Tom Himes has been dominating the SCCA Southwest Divisional races this season, winning 5 out of 6 races and finishing second only once! Having already qualified for the SCCA National runoffs, Tom is certain to be a major competitor for the SCCA National Championship in his Steeda equipped American Sedan 1989 Mustang.

Tom’s relationship with Steeda Autosports has been a long and fruitful one. He credits Steeda’s fanatical focus on customer service as the key. “It’s always a pleasure to call and deal with the Steeda Team. Never afraid to get into the technical aspects of the parts or their application, they’re definitely not just order takers. They make Steeda more than just a company you buy parts from!”

Should you find yourself trackside in the Southwest, keep an eye out for Tom and his #57 Fox Body Steeda Mustang…… more than likely, he will be leading the pack ! Congratulations Tom for a great series of victories for Steeda!

Jim Breese

Driving his Steeda Autosport equipped Mustang, Jim Breese made a nice move in the right direction this past weekend at the NMRA/NMCA Superbowl of Drag Racing in Chicago, Il. His car performed great and was improving with each pass down the dragstrip as he dials his car in for certain future victories. With a disappointing NMRA imposed incremental weigh disadvantage of 50 pounds, Jim was able to dial in the right combinations that allowed him to fight his way to the finals.

Starting the weekend off with a 10.22 @ 129.99. By the end of qualifying he had ran a 9.99 @ 134 to qualify #2 out of ten cars. Rounds one and two were wins with another 9.99 and a 9.98. Round three was a bye moving him into the finals against a nitrous equipped 5.0. The final started great as Jim led at the start with a great reaction time of.048 and thru 1,000′ mark he was dominating the race. Somehow, even though he ran a 9.91 at 136mph, his competitor found just a bit more at the very end to nip him at the line by 5 one-thousands of a second. With just a bit more dialing in and practice, Jim is certain to be winners circle in the near future.

Winning is not easy, it takes time, patience, skill, determination, and the right performance parts to achieve the perfect combination that leads to success. That is why Jim choose Steeda and that is why he is destined to be a winner.

Save your ticket stubs ladies and gentlemen — Steeda Autosports, THE HEADQUARTERS FOR FORD PERFORMANCE PARTS AND ACCESSORIES has a really special offer for everyone here today — place an order for any of their Steeda manufactured parts and send in your ticket stub from any 2007 NMRA event and receive a special 10% discount!

You heard me correctly, Steeda Autosports and NMRA have a special deal for all attendees at any NMRA event this season. By placing an order and sending in your ticket stub, you will receive 10% off the price of their already value laden parts and accessories. From any of their Drag Paks, Power Paks, or even their world-renowned suspension upgrades – all Steeda manufactured parts are eligible for a special 10% discount!

Why would Steeda do something like this – simple: Since 1988, no one has worked closer with Ford to push the envelope of real-world, race proven Mustang performance than Steeda. Want proof ? Steeda equipped Mustangs have won more production races and championships, and set more track records, than ALL of their competitors combined. More than Shelby, Roush, and Saleen combined. Steeda has even patented more Mustang performance parts than all the competition combined. Alright – it all sounds good but what does it mean ? Steeda is not a Jack of all trades, they are Ford performance only….they live it, race it, breath it, and the results of Steeda equipped cars PROVE it!

Check out the vast array of Steeda performance offerings at www.steeda.com today for the best values in performance supplies and equipment!

Once again, Steeda Autosports prepared Mustangs had an outstanding weekend during the National Auto Sports Association (NASA) Ohio-Indy American Iron Race at the extremely challenging Grattan Raceway Park on June 9th and 10th.

Robin Burnett (Burnett Racing) in his 2005 Steeda Mustang won two races during the weekend, winning the Saturday and Sunday feature events leaving the competition in his dust ! In addition, Robin set a new track record in his qualifying session for the Sunday race by guiding his Steeda Mustang at such a blistering pace that the only competition he had was himself and his teammate’s Steeda Mustangs!

Not to be overlooked or overshadowed, his Burnett Racing teammate & new Steeda hot shoe Aaron Bambach finished an impressive 2nd in both feature events providing a 1-2 podium for Steeda Autosports on Saturday.

Sunday everything even got better when there was a 1-2-3 podium when Rob Brent joined his teammates when he drove his Burnett Racing Steeda Mustang to a 3rd place finish in his first race at the challenging Grattan racetrack.

Once again, Steeda Autosports prepared Mustangs have proven that they are the leaders in production based Mustang races and that they leave the competition where they belong – in their review mirrors! As a matter of fact, Steeda has won more production based races and set more records than all of our competitors combined. More than Shelby, Roush, and Saleen COMBINED !

The Daytona International Raceway’s 2.95 mile road course was once again the setting for National Sports Car Club of America American Sedan racing on May 6th. And once again, Tom Ellis driving his Steeda prepared and equipped Mustang captured another 1st place win!

Even with an additional 100 pound weight penalty imposed by SCCA (due to the previous class domination the Tom Ellis driven and Steeda prepared Mustang has done in previous races), the cars perfect balance and road gripping manners that the Steeda 5-Link 2 rear suspension system provided was more than enough to ensure a dominating victory.

After qualify in the pole position, Tom Ellis never looked back as he completely dominated the race from start to finish! On his way to the checkered flag, even with the SCCA imposed added weight disadvantage, Tom set a new track record. With a blistering time of 2:09.230 he even lapped the 2nd place competitor before the checkered flag was finally his!

Once again, automobile performance enthusiasts see why racing is so important to everyone at Steeda Autosports. It is the proving ground where we test the latest performance products for you – our customer. Steeda ‘s products are designed and engineered to be the very best possible, to offer uncompromising performance, and to exceed our your every expectation.

We congratulate Tom Elliis, on another outstanding success in his Steeda Mustang.

The Burnett Racing Team came loaded for bear at the Ohio/Indy NASA season opener at Mid-Ohio on April 21 2007. With a total of four Steeda Autosports prepared Mustangs entered in two highly competitive classes, there were high hopes in the Steeda camp for yet another victory. With the race track as the ultimate proving ground for performance parts, the Steeda Mustangs once again proved their superiority by dominating the series and setting a new record!

Two time Ohio/Indy regional champion Robin Burnett was 2nd on Saturday and 1st on Sunday AND he also set a new Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course American Iron (AI) lap record with a blistering time of 1:36.458 in his 2005 Steeda Autosports prepared Mustang.

Steeda’s new hot shoe and last years CMC (Camaro Mustang Challenge) “Nationals” poll sitter Aaron Bambach had a great weekend with his new Steeda mount. In his first weekend in the SteedaMustang, Aaron drove his new ride to a 3rd and 2nd place finish, behind team leader and race winner Robin Burnett.

Rookie Bruce Byerly took the Burnett Racing Steeda CMC Mustang to a very respectable pair of 2nd place finishes in his debut at Mid-Ohio.

Other notable Steeda American Iron Series pilots Greg Walker and Jeff Feit were 5th & 6th respectively on Saturday and move up one position each on Sunday to 4th & 5th place in the AI class.

Let there be no doubt – when it comes to production based racing, Steeda Autosports’ commitment to outperform the competition is real and our results prove it. On the track, dragstrip, or on the street – Steeda is #1 !

FACT: Steeda equipped Mustangs have won more production car based races and championships, and set more track records, than all of our competitors combined! And remember: Speed Matters!

In Sports Car Club of America racing at the famed Road Atlanta 2.54-mile Grand Prix road course, Steeda equipped/prepared Mustangs swept the top three positions for an impressive domination of the American Sedan class racing. The road course with it’s 12 challenging turns and it’s famous “esses” places high demands on vehicle suspension systems – and the Steeda equipped Mustangs lived up to the challenge by providing yet another a 1-2-3 sweep !

After out qualifying the field in American Sedan by nearly three seconds, Tom Ellis in the #51 Mustang attempted to further bury his competition in the afternoon qualifying session but ended up inadvertently kissing the wall in turn one. After a flurry of repairs, another tech inspection and a shakedown track session, Tom was ready for the race and ended up lapping two other class cars on his way to yet another dominating victory for Steeda!

On route to his victory, Tom and his Steeda prepared Mustang set a NEW TRACK RECORD for American Sedan racing at the track – shattering the old record of 1:39.2 he set last year by nearly a second to a new record of 1:38.3. Another fine example of the continuous improvement underway at Steeda to always ensure our customers have the very best performance equipment available!

Not to be overlooked was also the stunning performance of Jason Von Kluge of Rehaegan Racing in the #18 Steeda equipped 2005 Mustang who finished a strong second and also Bob Eubanks in the #17 Steeda equipped 2000 Mustang that held off the competition to ensure the1-2-3 sweep. All three Mustangs were equipped with Steeda performance parts including our famed 5-link 2 rear suspension system.

Once again, winners choose Steeda. Some people call it a race track; we prefer to call it our proving grounds. The place where we consistently test all of our Steeda performance products against our competition so that you, our customer always have the very best performance products available.

The battle for supremacy in the SCCA Southeast Division American Sedan class centers around the two Steeda equipped Mustangs of Tom Ellis and Bob Eubanks. At the recent SCCA National race in Savannah, Georgia, the two talented drivers went at it hot and heavy. After qualifying one-two, both drivers put on a display of driving not seen in these parts in many a season.

Never more than a few feet away from each other, the lead changed three times with Tom Ellis the Virginia Gentleman, now residing in Pompano Beach, Florida leading from the pole. After three laps Eubanks in his Rusty Acres Mustang took the lead and held it for 12 laps. In the process, both Steeda Mustangs broke the existing track record with Bob Eubanks recording the fastest lap.

A couple of laps from the end, Tom made his move and just got by the silver streak running out of Jacksonville to take the win, by the slimmest of margins. Both Mustangs are equipped with the latest Steeda performance parts including the famed 5-Link 2 rear suspension. No surprise here, last fall at the SCCA Run-Offs at Heartland Park, in Topeka Kansas, all six Mustangs that finished in the top ten in the American Sedan Race were equipped with Steeda performance parts, including the 5-Link 2 suspension.

Steeda Autosports and Sutton High Performance will team up with Steeda sponsorship for the Sutton EFI Renegade 2007 Mustang. Sutton High Performance, the performance division of Sutton Ford, Matteson, Illinois is a Steeda distributor making the new partnership a natural.

“The new partnership with Sutton High Performance will enable our company to develop and prove out our performance parts for the 2005-07 Mustang, like our new coil over system.” Steeda President, Dario Orlando stated. We are confident that Service Director, Randy Mohrbach and Crew Chief Jerry Vanderlind will field a fast, competitive 2007 Mustang that will provide us with excellent feedback on our performance parts” he concluded.

Driven by talented drag racer, Aaron Stapleton, the Sutton High Performance Mustang was the first Modular powered Mustang to win an EFI Renegade event. The red Mustang also set mile per hour and ET World Records at 8.56 @ 160.

The Steeda/ Sutton High Performance Mustang will compete in NMRA Procharger EFI Renegade Class in 2007. First event is the March 8-11, at the 6th Annual Nitto Extreme Performance Spring Ford Nationals, held at Bradenton Motorsports Park, Bradenton, Florida.

Rodney is a Mustang builder & road racer with multiple SCCA series championships, and 70-plus podium finishes. He is a Daytona International Speedway track record holder. Over 20 years of performance experience.